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October 2, 2014

By
Harry Forbes

Category:

Industry Trends

AREVA and Schneider Electric have signed an R&D agreement to develop a new energy storage solution, called the flow battery in order to produce and store electricity by combining hydrobromic acid and hydrogen.

Funded by the European Union, the project aims to optimize the existing 50 kW flow battery prototype designed by EnStorage to a 150 kW demonstration module. Under the cooperation agreement, both companies will test the flow battery technology under real conditions. The aim is to deliver a competitive and highly efficient solution for the integration of renewable energies.

AREVA will lead the project, manufacturing, integrating, and installing the storage solution while Schneider Electric will design, manufacture, and install the complementary power conversion system.

In February 2014, AREVA and Schneider Electric signed a strategic partnership agreement to market energy management and storage solutions based on hydrogen production and fuel cell technology with AREVA's Greenergy Box.

Harry Forbes, ARC Advisory Group, commented, "Limited energy storage capacity is a weakness in grids everywhere and is the underlying cause of many grid stability problems. The flow battery is one storage technology with the potential to scale sufficiently and economically in order to balance the growing fraction of electricity from renewable sources."